PowerApps with SharePoint Versus ASP.NET core with SQL Server

Question

I have around 6 years of experience in SharePoint, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Core MVC & SQL Server. Now when I want to take a decision, if the project should be implemented using SharePoint/PowerApps or using SQL-Server/ASP.NET-MVC, is the complexity of the relation between the entities. The less complex the more I go with SharePoint/PowerApps. But one of the main concerns I have found recently and one of the main differences is the upgrade time/effort required by both technologies to stay supported by Microsoft.

Now in ASP.NET Core, Microsoft release new .NET core versions every 2 years and the new .NET version become out of support each 3 years, while if we develop our app using Power apps and SharePoint, we will not face this support issue, am I correct?

Can I say that using SharePoint/PowerApps will be more reliable and will require less effort/time to stay supported by Microsoft? Any comments or thoughts?

Answer 1

It is a short lifespan, I would worry that in practice Sharepoint Online has the same lifetime for any given version as they update automatically twice a year.

The bigger picture I think is how long do you need your software to last, without updating.

1. Line of business applications.

   These are constantly being updated with new features as the business changes. Updating from net core to 5 to 6 to 7 is trivial compared to the other stuff you need to do.

2. Stand alone enterprise software.

   Each year you want to sell a new version, office 95, 97, 2000 etc. You don't want to support your old versions, so why would microsoft?

3. Stand alone consumer software.

   Halo 2 or something. You would like it to run forever without touching it, and 3 years is probably too short and would annoy your customers. But after end of life, it will still run with the right runtime installed, it's just not recommended.

4. Stand alone embedded systems

   Blood transfusion monitor, communications satellite, Car built in satnav. It MUST run forever without updates, but the OS isn't going to change or get updates either. So you prob have a customised, cut down, locked down OS that you won't update barring an emergency. But you are probably coding in c++ anyway.